Book-case making machines



Oct. 15, 1968 w. KOLBUS BOOK-CASE MAKING MACHINES 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 1, 1966 Inventor WQH'er KOLB S 1, MAL O. Klu'm his Afior'ney O 68 w. KOLBUS 3,405,812

BOOK- CASE MAKING MACHINES Filed Nov. 1, 1966 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.2

Inventor: WalTer KOLBUS by: Uz his Aflorney Oct. 15, 1968 w. KOLBUS BOOK-CASE MAKING MACHINES 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov. 1, 1966 INVENTOR: WalTer KOLBU-S BY m a m ATTORNEY Oct. 15, 1968 w. KOLBUS 3,405,812

BOOK 'CASE MAKING MACHINES Filed Nov. 1, 1966 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 4

INVENTOR;

Walter KOLBUS m Mes-W ATTORNEY Oct. 15 1968 w. KOLBUS 3,405,812

BOOK-CASE MAKING MACHINES Filed Nov. 1, 1966 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR I Woll'er KOLBUS Bwm m ATTORNEY 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Nov. 1, 1966 INVENTOR: Walter KOLBUS BY. a

ATTORNEY BOOK-CASE MAKING MACHINES Filed Nov. 1, I966 7 Sheets-Sheet '7 INVENTOR 2 WalTer KOLBUS mam ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,495,812 BOOK-CASE MAKING MACHINES Walter Kolbus, Post Rahden in Westfalen, Germany, as-

signor to Rahdener Maschinenfabrik Aug. Kolbus, Rahden in Westfalen, Germany, a firm Filed Nov. 1, 1966, Ser. No. 591,318 Claims priority, application Germany, Nov. 4, 1965,

12 Claims. (c1. 214-4 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An apparatus for transposing fiat book cases from one station to another in a book-case making machine, w..ich includes a gripping member having suction means for positively connecting the gripping member to a book-case which is to be transposed. The gripping member is arranged on a double slide so as to be movable thereon to and fro in one and the same plane in a direction transverse and parallel to the folded rear edges of the book-case as well as by means of a lifting element operatively mounted on the double slide and adapted to lift and lower the book-case vertically to the plane thereof. The double slide includes an upper slide rectilinearly movable along a stationary guide transversely to the folded rear edges of the book-case and a lower slide guidingly mounted on the upper slide and independently movable parallel to folded rear edges of the book-case. A fulcrum bracket is arranged on the lower slide and forms the lifting element for the gripping member. The upper slide member is provided with cam means for controlling the lifting movement of the fulcrum bracket.

The present invention relates to book-case making machines and particularly to apparatus therefor for the transposition of a fiat book-case from one station to another, eg, to the feed side of a book-case press.

In a known transposing apparatus, book-cases lying flat on a table are pushed by a reciprocally moving book-case discharger in a direction transverse to the folded rear edges from the table to the feed side of a book-case press. The discharger than pushes the case to be transposed by its rear edge and is actuated by a drive mechanism having an eccentric, chain wheel and chain.

In such an arrangement, the edge of the book-case is often damaged by the discharger striking it, particularly when the case is more or less glued fast to the table and is stuck thereto. The part of the book-case nearest the discharge furthermore often tends to be raised from the table by a lever effect of the book spine and, as far as the width of the spine allows, tends to push over the other part of the case which is stuck to the table. Without having to push the stuck book-case into the book-case press, the discharger then attempts to guide a new case to the press after returning into its original position, and thus the discharger, despite the safety device attached thereto, pushes the following case against the previous one which was left behind and causes a greater amount of damage and considerable disturbances in operation. This occurs not only in the case of adhesive-covered table surfaces but also when the operating speed of the book-casemaking machine is increased and this cannot be avoided even when the most careful attention is given by the operator.

The invention has for an object to minimize these disadvantages and consists in an apparatus for transposing fiat book-cases from one station to another of a bookcase-making machine, comprising a gripping member, suction means for positively connecting the gripping member to a book-case to be transposed, said gripping 3,405,812 Patented Oct. 15, 1968 member being movable to and fro on a double slide in one and the same plane in a direction transverse and parallel to the folded rear edges of the book-case, as well as by means of a lifting element arranged on a part of the slide which is adapted to move said gripping means vertically to the plane of the book-case between the end positions of the to and fro movement.

The co-ordination and sequence of the movement of the gripping member are preferably determined by a'cam to control the slide parts of the double slide and the lifting element. The gripping member is preferably constructed as a suction tube and has suction nipples which are distributed at intervals along its length and which are connected thereto. These nipples can be adjustably positionable with respect to the suction tube for adaption to different sizes of book-cases.

The apparatus may comprise an upper slide which is rectilinearly movable along stationary guides transverse to the folded rear edges of the book-case, said slide having a lower slide guided thereon and independently movable parallel to the folded rear edges of the book-case, and by a fulcrum bracket arranged on the lower slide and forming the lifting element for the gripping member. A driven rotary cam is advantageously provided, as the movement control for the upper side, with a drive transmission consisting of a cam follower lever, toothed rack, bevel gear, chain wheel and chain, whilst a driven rotary cam can be provided as the movement control for the lower slide, with a drive transmission consisting of a cam 1follower lever, an intermediate control lever and a double ever.

For coupling and balancing the different movements, both cams are preferably arranged on a common drive shaft and are advantageously fixed so as to be mutually adjustable thereon.

The gripping member is advantageously connected to a fixed suction source via flexible conduit, in which a valve releases or interrupts its connection with the source in dependence upon the movements of the gripping member.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which show one embodiment thereof by way of example, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a front view of a book-case making machine with a transposing apparatus according to the invention;

FIEICI 2 shows a plan view of the apparatus according to FIG. 3 shows a section on enlarged scale along the line III III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 shows a section on enlarged scale along the line IV-IV of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 shows part of the structure of FIG. 1 on an enlarged scale, as compared to FIG. 1, the structure shown in FIG. 5 including the double carriage and the lever carrier with the suction tube;

FIG. 6 is a section taken along line VI--VI of FIG. 5;

FIG. 6a is a cross-sectional view of one of the suction nipples;

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of the suction installation.

Referring now to the drawing, the book-case making machine shown therein comprises a table 2 for supporting book-cases arranged on a machine frame 1, and a bookcase press arranged near said table, to the feed side of which book-cases 3 supported on the table 2 are to be transposed. The book-case press comprises press members 4 and 5, mounted one above the other, and conveyor belts 6 mounted respectively around the press members 4 and 5 in known fashion.

A double slide 10 consisting of an upper slide 8 and a lower slide 9 is movably guided along a guideway 7 which extends along the feed side of the press, the upper slide 8 of said double slide 10 co-operating with the guideway 7, whilst the lower slide 9 is movably guided independently at right angles to the direction of movement of the slide 8. The slide 9 carries on its lower side a fulcrum bracket 11 which is mounted to rotate about an axis 12 in a plane vertical to the direction of movement of the upper slide 8.

The fulcrum bracket 11 carries at its end facing the inlet to the press a gripping member in the form of a suction tube 13, this member extending parallel to the guideway 7 and being provided with downwardly directed suction nipples 14, which are distributed at intervals along the length of the suction tube 13 and which are connected to the inside of the tube, their mutual distance being adjustable.

The end of the fulcrum bracket 11 which does not face the feed side of the press, co-operates with a cam 15 (FIG. 6) arranged on the upper slide 8 in the manner of a cam follower member, which cam, running parallel to the direction of movement of the lower slide 9 comes into engagement with the end of the fulcrum bracket 11 during one part of the movement of the lower slide 9.

For driving the upper slide 8 in a to and fro movement along the .guideway 7, there is provided a driven rotary shaft 16 on which a cam disc 17 is fixed, which has an eccentric cam in the form of a groove 18. A camfollower lever 21 pivotally mounted on one end about a fixed axis engages in this cam 18 with a follower roll 19; the free end of said lever being pivotally connected at 22 to a toothed rack 23 which is adapted to move up and down on a vertical member of the frame 1. The toothed rack 23 mates with a rotatably mounted bevel gear 24, which is securely connected to a chain wheel 25 on a chain wheel shaft 26 and transmits its movement to a chain 29 guided over guide pulleys 27, 28, said chain 29 being connected at 30, via a rod 31 engaging on the upper slide 8, with said slide (see FIG. 5).

For effecting the movement of the lower slide 9, a cam disc 32 secured to the shaft 16 is provided, in the embodiment shown, with a groove shaped cam 33, into which a follower roll 34, mounted on a cam follower lever 35, engages. Said cam follower lever 35 is pivotally mounted at one end on a shaft 37 supported in a bearing block 36. An intenmediate guide lever 39 is articulated at 38 to the free end of the cam follower lever 35, said intermediate lever 39 being for its part pivotally connected at its other end at 40 by means of a pin 41 with a lever 43 securely attached to a swivel shaft 42 (see FIG. 6). The intermediate guide lever 39 is constructed so that its length may be varied. The shaft 42 is rotatably supported in two bearings 44 and has at its ends two levers 45 securely attached to the shaft 42, which are connected to each other by a rod 46. The rod 46 is pivotally connected to a fork 47 secured to the lower slide 9, this fork being mounted on the rod 46 so as to be movable therealong.

In the operating position illustrated in FIGURES 1 to 3, the upper slide 8 is located in the final position shown on the left in the drawing on the guideway 7, whilst the lower slide 9 at the same time assumes its end position shown on the right hand side of FIGURE 3 on the upper slide 8. When the double slide 10 is in this position, the fulcrum bracket 11 assumes its downwardly directed final position, in which the suction tube 13 extends transversely over the table 2 and very closely above the table plate thereof along one of its edges. The suction nipples 14 on the suction tube 13 are, in this position, in engagement with a book-case 3 lying on the table 2 with folded rear edges 3 running perpendicularly to the extension of the suction tube 13. By means of a flexible conduit with a control valve housed therein, connecting the suction tube 13 with a source of suction pressure 48, a positive connection in the form of a partially flexible suction line 49 is produced between the suction nipples and the book case, which is secured fast to the suction nipples under the efiect of the suction. When the drive shaft 16 is rotating, and whilst the upper slide 8 is still stationary, the lower slide 9 receives a movement directed towards the left in FIGURE 3 running parallel to the folded rear edges 3 by means of its drive, the consequences of which being that the fulcrum bracket 11 runs with its rear end onto the cam 15 and rotates about its axis 12, together with suction tube 13 with suction nipples 14, in an upward direction into its upper end position, in which the fulcrum bracket 11 remains during the further movement of the lower slide 9 with respect to the upper slide 8. Thus, the book-case 3 is lifted as a whole by having one of its edges engaged with the suction nipples 14 and at the same time is pushed in a direction parallel to its folded rear edges 3 This lifting motion, starting from one edge of the bookcase and finally extending over the whole book-case, ensures an easy loosening of the book-case from the table whilst avoiding any damage thereto. In the further rotary movement of the drive shaft 16, the upper slide 8 now receives, by means of its drive which is described above, a movement passing from its original position along the guideway 7 and directed in the plane of the case transverse to the folded rear edges, during which the case 3 is shifted from one position above the table 2 into a position in front of the feed side of the book-case press. Still whilst the upper slide 8 is moving into its opposite end position, the drive for the lower slide gives it a movement opposite to its first movement, during which the fulcrum bracket 11 returns back into its lower end position. When these movements are terminated, the case 3 is located in a predetermined position at the feed side of the book-case press, which, after loosening the case from the suction nipples by actuating the control valve 50, arranged in the flexible suction conduit and the control valve 51 (FIG. 7) connected to the conduit over the valve 50, takes over the further movement of the case.

This control valve 50 in the suction conduit 49 shuts off the connection of the suction tube 13 to the suction pressure source when the double slide has reached its output position by the action of a cam 52 carried by a shaft 53.

The control valve 51 connected to the suction conduit 49 over the control valve 50 is actuated by the cam 56, which is also mounted on the shaft 53, although it is shown to the side of the cam 52 schematically in FIG. 7, and the opening of the valve 51 places the suction conduit 49 in communication with the outer atmosphere, so that the conduit 13 also communicates at this time with the outer atmosphere. The shafts 53 and 16 are connected by a chain 54 (FIG. 4), and a pair of sprocket wheels 55 of the same diameter are provided for the chain 56 to form the transmission between the shafts 53 and 16. Thus, these shafts have the same speed of rotation and rotate in the same direction.

In the reversed sequence of movements, the double slide 10, together with fulcrum bracket 11 and suction tube 13 returns into the final position of the case shown in FIGURES 1 to 3, whereupon a new set of operations is commenced. Coordination and succession of the movements of the double slide 10 and the fulcrum bracket 11 operating as the lifting element are determined by the cams 17, 32 for the upper and lower slides by way of their cam paths 18, 33. It is advantageous if the movements of upper and lower slides 8 and 9 overlap each other to a certain extent in order to shorten the transposition time of the apparatus. The extent of overlap is determined by the positions of the cams with respect to each other. The adaptation of the case-transporting structures to cases of different sizes requires only a change in the spacing between the suction nipples.

It is further advantageous to position a control device in the suction tube conduit 13, 49 to the low pressure source, which device switches off the drive for the apparatus if a predetermined low pressure is not achieved or if the low pressure drops during the transposition.

Referring now to FIG. 7 it will be seen that the control apparatus can, for example, include a pressure gauge 57 which upon reaching a given degree of vacuum closes a low-current circuit 58 which by way of an amplifier 59 actuates a switch 61 connected to an intermediate part of an interruptor circuit 60. Furthermore, there is advantageously situated in the interrupter circuit 60 a scanning device which only permits the closing of the interrupter circuit 60 by the switch 61 to occur during the transporting process. This scanning device may advantageously include a switch 62 which is actuated by a cam 63 which is mounted on the shaft 53 in such a way that the switch 62 is only closed during actual transporting of a case. The interruptor circuit may advantageously be connected by way of a magnetic switch 64 with a supply circuit 65 for a driving motor 66.

It will be apparent that various modifications of the embodiment described and shown are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, hydraulic drives may be provided for the upper and lower slides and to regulate the supply of pressure means to these drives by means of cam controlled valves. It is furthermore possible, instead of controlling the fulcrum bracket by means of the cam 15, to give said bracket its pivotal movement by means of an electromagnet operating device. It should also be understood that a transposing movement can also be undertaken between other stations than those described on book-case making machines by means of the reversing apparatus.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for transposing flat book cases from one station to another of a book-case making machine, com prising a gripping member,

suction means for positively connecting the gripping member to a book-case to be transposed,

said gripping member being movable to and fro on a double slide in one and the same plane in a direction transverse and parallel to the folded rear edges of the book-case as well as by means of a lifting element arranged on a part of the double slide, vertically to the plane of the book-case between the end positions of the movement,

said double slide comprising an upper slide rectilinearly movable along a stationary guide transversely to the folded rear edges of the book-case,

said upper slide having a lower slide guided thereon and independently movable parallel to the folded rear edges, a fulcrum bracket arranged on the lower slide and forming the lifting element for the gripping member,

first cam means arranged on the lower side of the upper slide for controlling the lifting movement of the fulcrum bracket for the gripping member, along which cam means the free end of the fulcrum bracket is supported in a sliding manner.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gripping member is in the form of a suction tube having nippies connected thereto and arranged at intervals along its length.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the suction nipples are positionally adjustable along the suction tube.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein a driven rotary cam is provided, for controlling the movement of the upper slide edge, with a drive transmission consisting of a cam follower lever, a toothed rack, a bevel gear, a chain wheel and a chain.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein a driven rotary cam is provided, for controlling the movement of the lower slide with a drive transmission consisting of a cam follower lever, an intermediate guide lever and rocker arm, engaging on a common pivot shaft.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein both cams are arranged on a common drive shaft.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein a flexible conduit connects the gripping member to a stationary source of low pressure or suction.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein a valve is positioned in the conduit for disconnecting or varying the suction under the control of the movements of the gripping member.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the valve is controlled from the drive for the double slide.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the valve positioned in the conduit opens and closes the latter depending upon the movement of the gripping member.

11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein a valve control is derived from the drive for the double slide.

12. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein a low pressure control device is positioned in the conduit for switching off the drive for the gripping member if a predetermined low pressure is not achieved or if the low pressure drops during the transposition. 

